Jemima Khan and Julian Fellowes to make series on Rothschild dynasty

Follow the author of this article

Follow the topics within this article

It has all the ingredients of a sumptuous period drama: five brothers set out to make their fortune and build an empire that spans the globe.

So who better to adapt the story of the Rothschild dynasty than Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey?

Fellowes is working on a series about the financiers whose influence spread across Europe in the 19th century. It is being produced by Jemima Khan, who can declare a personal interest in the family: her brothers, Zac and Ben, both married Rothschild heiresses.

The drama is titled Five Arrows - a reference to the design on the Rothschild coat of arms, in which a fistful of arrows represents the five sons.

The Rothschilds have been in the news lately "for awful reasons", Fellowes said, featuring in the crude mural at the centre of the Labour Party anti-Semitism row.

He told the Telegraph: "The fact is they are an extraordinary family and that first generation, when the father sent these five sons to the capitals of Europe and within 10 years they had this enormous success, was brilliant."

Julian FellowesCredit:
Camera Press

Mayer Amschel Rothschild came from humble beginnings in Frankfurt and established himself as a banker. One son, Amschel, remained with the family firm in Germany and the other four - James, Carl, Salomon and Nathan - spread out to Paris, Naples, Vienna and London.

Their joint operation was the biggest bank in the world during the 19th century. Niall Ferguson, the historian and biographer of the family, wrote: "Not even the biggest of today's international banking groups enjoys the relative supremacy enjoyed by the Rothschilds in their heyday."

Mayer also had five daughters, whose stories will be brought to the fore in the drama.

Fellowes said the series was offered to him by Khan's film company, Instinct Productions. "It was Jemima Khan's idea," he said. The lead writer of the series is Ian Kelly, while Fellowes acts as "godfather" to the project. "In a sense, I will be assisting Ian," he said.

"I'm spreading my wings in the sense of working collaboratively with other people so it's not just me. I would like my career to continue as long as possible."

Five Arrows is one of several series on Fellowes' slate. He is currently working on The Gilded Age, an 'American Downton' set in 19th century New York, and The English Game, a Netflix drama about the history of modern football. He has also done preliminary work on a film version of Downton Abbey, although that project is dependent on the logistics of getting the original cast back together.